This summary might be quite late, however special thanks goes the
following individuals for sharing their views with regards to my
question, namely:
Dr. Tom Blinn <tpb_at_digital.com>
Lynn Blankenship <lblank_at_chakotay.au.af.mil>
Alan Rollow <alan_at_nabeth.cxo.dec.com>
Javier Aida <jaida_at_gmd.com.pe>
My original question:
=====================
> > Plans have been made to migrate from the OSF/1 Ver. 2.0b to the Digital
> > Unix Ver. 4.0.
> >
> > In this regard, I just would like to ask to verify if it would be
> > alright to use our current license on the v.2.0b for the v4.0.
Dr. Tom Blinn gives a comprehensive response:
=============================================
> No. Your license for DEC OSF/1 V2.0B does NOT give you the right to use
> Digital UNIX V4.0. You need to obtain an update license that gives you the
> right to use the current version. There are two ways to get this -- one is
> to have maintained a system software support license since you got the new
> system that includes the right to use new versions; if you have had this
> level of service in place all along, then you have the right to use the new
> version of Digital UNIX. Otherwise, you have to purchase a "right to new
> version" license.
> I notice you are an educational institution. Your country may have some
> special business practice for educational institutions that grant rights to
> use new versions of some Digital software for a flat price, or even free, so
> be sure to check with your sales agent to find out whether you already have
> the right to use Digital UNIX V4.0 through some special arrangement or if
> you have already paid for it as part of your service agreement.
My followup questions and Dr. Blinn's response:
==============================================
> > About the update licenses, what licenses are you referring to?
Actually, update licenses apply to both the base OS and user licenses.
> > How about the user licenses I currently have? Will I have to purchase
> > new user licenses too?.
Officially, yes, you need to update your concurrent user licenses as well as
the base OS license.
> > Considering that I am under an educational institution and things don't
> > easily get out the way it is expected (especially funds!), I just would
> > like to inquire, comparatively speaking, which is more expensive, using
> > the license of my previous operating system (from v.2.0) or just buying a
> > new one (together with the new operating system, v.4.0)?
It depends on the system platform. For instance, for a DEC 3000 Model 500
workstation (aka Flamingo), the base license would be $2,818.00 US, but the
update license is $1,127.00 US. I believe that a similar proportion applies
to other platforms -- the update license is about the same fraction of the
price of the original (base) license.
If you're going to update versions regularly, and want Digital support for
your system, the service offerings that include rights to new versions as a
part of the service are a good deal. If you are going to most of your own
software support in terms of answering questions, and don't upgrade often to
new versions, then buying the new version license when you need it is going
to be the more economical approach.
Of course, the pricing in your country, or for your institution, may well be
different. The prices I've looked up are US prices for commercial customers
and we sometimes have special deals for education customers.
Bonn
:)
Received on Fri Jun 21 1996 - 20:13:24 NZST